Christmas Adjournment

Matt Rodda Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)]

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore). Like him, I would like to continue the wonderful tradition of our late colleague from Southend and do a brief tour around my constituency of Reading Central, starting with a quick word about Reading football club, talking about Reading gaol and local art, and moving on to thank small businesses and charities.

The wonderful Reading FC is one of the longest established clubs in the English league, but sadly, because of poor ownership, it is currently languishing in league 1. The club has a glorious history, has had many great cup runs and holds the record for scoring the highest ever points total in the championship:106 points—99 goals— in the 2005-06 season. If I had one request for Santa, I would ask that Reading FC has a new owner for Christmas. I would like to see Dai Yongge pack his bags and head home, and a new owner, who can take the club forward, come in, invest in its future and get us back into the championship. Who knows, maybe we can get back into the premiership, in which we played for three seasons, over two stints? If we could achieve that, it would be truly wonderful and every child in Reading would be delighted; it would be the best possible Christmas present they could ever wish for.

Dai Yongge has had the club up for sale for a year and has turned down two bids. Sadly, he was associated with two overseas clubs that closed, so there is a great deal of concern from fans and other local residents about the future of the club. We have also lost the manager recently, who has moved to Hull City. I wish the new manager, Noel Hunt, well, but there are real concerns about the future of the club. I hope that Dai Yongge can listen, sell the club and move on.

On Reading gaol, we have better news. I wish the new owner, Reading borough council and Historic England well in their efforts to try to turn the wonderful former gaol into something special, by redeveloping it in a constructive way and providing a significant amount of arts provision in our town centre. Oscar Wilde was incarcerated in Reading gaol. It is an incredible building and a wonderful example of early Victorian architecture. If it were open to the public, it would prove to be an incredible visitor attraction. It was briefly open in the mid-2010s when Artangel held installation art and poetry readings in the gaol, which attracted thousands of people from across the country. Having the gaol as an arts hub would be worthy of our town; it has a very successful music festival and many other arts activities, but it does not have an arts venue of this type. I am campaigning for that and I look forward to success in the new year.

Finally, I cannot mention all the winners of my small business competition individually, but I thank them for their efforts in driving growth in our local economy, providing employment and making our town centre, and other local centres, vibrant places to visit, which shoppers and other residents much enjoy. I pay tribute to the many charities in the Reading area that do wonderful things at Christmas, and all year round, in particular Toys and Teens, which is a fantastic appeal that has made many children very happy at Christmas, and the many other wonderful local charities. I also thank all those working at Christmas, particularly those in our NHS, other emergency service workers and many others who provide vital services while we are all enjoying Christmas with our families.

Before I finish, I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and your colleagues, all our colleagues across the parliamentary estate, including the Doorkeepers and the other staff who make this place such a wonderful place to work. I wish the public, especially residents in Reading, a very happy Christmas and a wonderful new year.